Celia has expanded the law of disability access with published opinions including Tamara v. El Camino Hospital, the first case in the nation to rule that the ADA prohibits excluding service dogs from a locked psychiatric unit and C.L. v. Del Amo Hospital, Inc., the first case in the nation to rule that the ADA prohibits imposing certification requirements on service dogs.

     She has been a visiting clinical professor at the University of San Francisco Law School as well as an adjunct professor of Moot Court and Legal Writing at Hastings College of the Law. She has published scholarly and opinion articles and is a frequent speaker on disability rights issues.

     Celia was appointed to three terms on the California Commission on Disability Access by Governor Jerry Brown. CCDA’s mission is to promote disability access in California through communication and collaboration with the disability and business communities and government. She isa member of the Disability Rights Bar Association as well as a sustaining member and past Board Member of the Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers Association.

    Before joining McGuinness Law Group, Liza was a partner at Brancart & Brancart where she litigated for 28 years representing plaintiffs in housing discrimination cases. Her most notable cases include the first-ever California trial involving housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, groundbreaking work challenging racially-biased home appraisals, and the landmark case, Giebeler v. M&B & Associates, in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals expanded the rights of people with disabilities to reasonable accommodations in housing.  
    In 2014, Liza served as lead counsel for the class in a certified class action involving violations of California’s residential security deposit statute at a large apartment complex in Silicon Valley. The jury awarded over $2.25 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
    She has been honored for her groundbreaking work by many state and local agencies, including being named a “Civil Rights Hero” by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (now known as the Civil Rights Department).
    She serves on the steering committee for the State Bar of California Housing and Public Accommodations Section and the National Fair Housing Alliance litigation committee. She is a regular instructor and contributor at conferences and State Bar trainings in housing rights law.

Before joining McGuinness Law Group, Esmeralda worked at an environmental litigation firm, representing groups and individuals harmed by pollution.. She also spent nearly a decade working in immigration litigation and advocacy, including with the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic at Stanford Law School and private law firms. She brings a detail oriented approach and a  strong commitment to public service.

Esmeralda is graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and earned her Paralegal Degree from De Anza College.  She is fluent in Spanish.

Outside of work, Esmeralda enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, and watching basketball.

     Before joining the McGuinness Law Group, Sally contributed to social justice initiatives through organizations such as Beyond Differences, Coro Northern California, and BAY-Peace, where she empowered Bay Area youth through leadership and advocacy programs. Her commitment to social justice was further shaped by her work with the Title IX office at UC Berkeley, where she gained valuable experience addressing issues of sex discrimination and harassment on campus. Sally aspires to attend law school to continue advocating for underserved communities as an attorney.